Damaged mail in Preston a result of mail truck fire

Preston — A mail truck carrying mail to residents, businesses and town offices caught fire Jan. 16, damaging some and destroying other pieces of mail and packages, the U.S. Postal Service informed residents.

There were no injuries in the incident, postal officials said.

“Please accept my apologies for the damage or delay to mail you may receive in poor condition,” David D. Mastroianni Jr., district manager for Connecticut Valley District, wrote to postal customers on Jan. 17. “Recovered mail was cleaned and dried, but you still may see damage or experience a distinctive odor on the mail piece.”

One customer who received the Postal Service letter was Town Clerk/Tax Collector Hattie Wucik, who is in the middle of receiving January tax bills.

Wucik said several envelopes were charred and wet, but no tax checks were damaged. One land recording document was damaged and would not have scanned properly, Wucik said, so she asked the attorney who sent the item for a replacement copy.

U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Christine Dugas said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.